Stoner: `Ducati´s record for technical issues has been brilliant´

Technical difficulties are not something normally associated with the Ducati Desmosedici of Casey Stoner.

Technical difficulties are not something normally associated with the Ducati Desmosedici of Casey Stoner. The reigning MotoGP World Champion had a near-faultless 2007 season with the Italian factory´s machine, whereas the likes of rival Valentino Rossi suffered from reliability issues and allowed the dominant Australian to hold a near season long advantage at the top of the classification.

Stoner has now been usurped from the World Championship standings top spot for the first time since last March, a result of a small setup difficulty in Jerez that he is confident will not be repeated in Portugal this weekend.

`We changed the Jerez race setup just by a few millimetres the day after the race, and we went a second faster. I think that this would have changed the outcome of the race a lot,´ said the Australian on Thursday. Stoner experienced clutch problems in last September´s Portuguese showdown but, amidst the rain and wind swinging in from the Atlantic, doesn´t believe that lightning can strike twice.

`Ducati´s record for technical issues has been brilliant. We had a very, very small one last year that just caused a few problems in the middle of the race. I think that we can expect a better result this year.´